Maple Leaf Fan Syndrome

This isn’t a recent revelation. The thought scratched the back of my mind for years, and eventually it occurred to me: Maple Leaf fans show all the symptoms of Battered Wife Syndrome. That included me. An illustration of this occurred when I decided to give up supporting the Buds: it was a tough, tough decision. This should not have been so. I had suffered decades of disappoint and mistreatment at the hands of the Leafs; I had made a considered decision, so it should have been easy for me to take the door. Unfortunately, as a Maple Leaf Fan Syndrome sufferer, it was difficult for the victim to leave the abuser.

Before I go any farther, I want it known that when I refer to the Maple Leafs, I mean Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the insensate, faceless corporation that owns the Leafs. The actual team is a bunch of good guys, who love hockey. The MLS&E apparently doesn’t like hockey, and as it happens with a human abuser, it sees its poor treatment of the fans reinforced every time a game is sold out. Every game is sold out, so the process of abuse continues. The MLS&E might even believe that the fans are enjoying the bad treatment.

The hypothesis took deep root when various hard-core Maple Leaf fans discovered I left the Leafs. I noticed that they sided with the abuser and argued vehemently that I was being disloyal. This is denial. They often boasted that they had persevered as fans for decades: a classic demonstration of poor self-esteem, perhaps feeling that they deserve the poor treatment. More symptoms.

Abusers isolate their prey. No one can deny that the Maple Leaf fan is the most despised by every other fan, particularly Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. This concentration of external hostility has the added effect of binding the Maple Leaf fans closer together in an us-against-them mentality.

The Syndrome can be passed down from generation to generation from both sides of the relationship. It is saddening to think of the many little boys and girls who are channeled into a lifetime of mistreatment by that first blue hockey jersey.

Leaf fans begin every hockey season with optimism. They are soon met with disappointment in the form of humiliating losses. Their hope seems dauntless. They are dealt punishing blow after punishing blow as the one they love loses and loses. Just before they are crushed totally, the bully presents the victim with a bouquet of flowers in the form of a win. This rekindles hope. Hope takes wing as more wins occur; alas, only to come crashing down as losses abruptly reappear. This continuous pattern, (reward and punishment), is common in abusive relationships.

As with any destructive human relationship, the Maple Leaf hanger-on is induced to stay by promises of improvement or change. The Leafs have had at least 15 different coaches in the last 40 years and have changed the General Manager about as often. Few of the dozens of highly touted draft picks or trades have panned out, but these maneuvers have attained the desired effect: the fan-victim, hungry for and seeing signs of love, rationalizes. This year the Maple Leaf fan has accepted the story that the team is now rebuilding, a process that needs no Stanley Cups for years to come. The fans have given those wily Maple Leafs permission to finish near the bottom of the standings so that they can obtain a good draft pick next year. The closer to the bottom, the better the pick!

My personal experience with Maple Leaf Fan Syndrome ended happily. As with any syndrome: awareness must occur before a cure. My revelation came slowly as relatives and friends ridiculed me. They asked tough questions. They pointed out how pitiful and predictable other Leaf fans appeared to be. The post game interviews with coaches started to sound alike. Then an escape was made and sanctuary was given to me by the Montreal Canadiens. My self-esteem has returned and I am now empowered to resist abuse.

What’s this I hear that the Canadiens just fired their coach? In the middle of a playoff race, you say? I am so happy that Bob Gainey took the reins; nothing bad can possibly happen!